Renowned Punjabi folk singer Gurmeet Bawa passed away on Sunday following prolonged illness. She was 77. Gurmeet Bawa, wife of Punjabi folk singer Kirpal Bawa, was best known for her long ‘hek’ (opening of a song while singing to create a melodious voice with an unbreakable wave) for about 45 seconds.She came to limelight when she started performing on Doordarshan. She was the first Punjabi female singer to appear on the national television channel.
Born in 1944 in Kothe village of Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, Gurmeet Bawa became popular across the country after singing the Punjab folk song “Jugni”.During her career, Gurmeet received many accolades including the State Award by the Punjab government, Sangeet Puraskar by the Punjab Natak Akademi, the national Devi Ahilya Award by the Madhya Pradesh government and the Shiromani Gayika Award by the Punjabi Language Department. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi expressed grief over the singer’s demise.